More degree courses to be offered in polytechnics

More degree courses to be offered in polytechnics
By Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 19 May 2009 1922 hrs

More degree courses to be offered in polytechnics

SINGAPORE: A major transformation of Singapore's tertiary education sector is on the cards.

The world's leading science and engineering university, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), will partner Singapore's Education Ministry to run the country's fourth university. And more polytechnic students will be able to obtain degrees in Singapore.

In the past, polytechnic students who wanted a degree in optometry had to go overseas.

Now, they can apply for a place in the University of Manchester, which is partnering Singapore Polytechnic to offer its degree programme here.

Tan Hang Cheong, Principal, Singapore Polytechnic, said: “The core lectures and so on will be (taught) by University of Manchester academic staff. Singapore Polytechnic staff will help support some of the teaching, especially in the clinical areas.

"We're also very fortunate to have Tan Tock Seng's Eye Institute help us in this... many of the optomologists will be helping us to do some technical training.”

Lek Xuan, Undergraduate, Optometry Degree Programme, said: “If I go overseas it will cost about S$30,000. In Singapore, it costs only about S$7000 a year.”

There are currently six different degree programmes being offered by all the polytechnics in Singapore. Besides optometry, the other degree programmes are in areas such as naval architecture, early childhood education, and food technologies. All these courses have a high practical component and are heavily subsidised.

Another six to eight reputable foreign universities are likely to offer degree programmes in local polytechnics by 2015.

The newly set-up Singapore Institute of Applied Technology will establish tie-ups with foreign universities in areas such as engineering, applied sciences, digital media and health sciences.

The institute will be a distinct entity within the Education Ministry, and will help to plan, manage and implement the different degree programmes. Thus, things like curriculum planning and admissions will come under the purview of this institute.

The institute has been given a budget of S$1.6 billion. By 2015, there should be places for about 2000 full-time students and 1500 part-time students every year.

So far, some of the universities approached include the Russell Group Universities in the UK, the Australian Group of Eight Universities -- for example, Monash University, University of Melbourne, University of New South Wales -- and the Swiss hotel schools.

Over the next 10 years, the government will spend S$3.5 billion to develop the polytechnic sector.

The full-time degree programmes are expected to last for up to two years, since polytechnic students already have the relevant foundation. It usually takes three years or more to complete the programme overseas.

Part-time courses can be expected to take up to four years, and the courses cater mainly to polytechnic students who have already entered the job market but are still keen on upgrading their skills. The degrees will be awarded in the names of the foreign universities, but they will all be taught in the polytechnics.

The Education Ministry says the universities it partners with must be reputable, well-recognised by industry, and that the degrees offered here should be no different from that offered at the parent university.

Currently, 40 to 50 per cent of polytechnic students get a degree after a diploma, and of this number, a quarter choose to go overseas.

Singapore's universities have limited places, and only about 15 per cent of polytechnic graduates get a place.

With the expanded degree programmes at polytechnics and the fourth university, about one in five local polytechnic graduates will have a shot at university education here.

Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said: “We will like to increase the number of places for all Singaporeans to obtain degrees. But as other systems have shown us, that is not the only factor that you need to consider. You can overdo it, and produce a lot of degree holders and have graduate unemployment. We can't compete on numbers. China, India will produce large hordes of degree holders. Numbers is not security, it is quality.”

The new university, which opens in 2011, will partner MIT and possibly another top ranking institute from China, whose name will be announced by year's end.

It will focus on science, engineering, information systems and architecture, with a strong research component.

Professors from MIT will play the lead role in developing the curriculum, using design to integrate all these disciplines.

The school will take in up to 4,000 undergraduates and about 3,000 postgraduates, from Singapore and overseas.

That makes it about the same size as the Singapore Management University. The Education Ministry says admission standards will be high, and fees will also be higher than in other universities, since the renowned MIT is a partner.

The Education Ministry had originally said that the new university will have an annual enrolment of 2,500 which adds up to an undergraduate population of 10,000. The intake number announced on Tuesday is smaller than originally planned. Nonetheless, with the Singapore Institute of Applied Technology, the republic is still on track to providing state-supported university education to 30 per cent of students.

Susan Hockfield, President of MIT, says, "Singapore has positioned itself superbly as an innovation hub for the 21st century. The new university is an exciting next step in our long relationship and a natural outgrowth of our shared interest in world-class science and engineering-based education, design and innovation."

There will also a third medical school in Singapore and the Nanyang Technological University has been asked to submit a proposal.

And the school will not just produce doctors, it will also focus on areas such as digitised medicine and global pandemics. The new medical school will take in between 100 to 150 students a year.

- CNA/yt